mock draft

The NFL Draft is over and we have a brand new class of Minnesota Fightin’ Vikings to welcome into the fold. We welcome Arif Hasan (@ArifHasanNFL) back to the friendly confines to break down Ricks 10 draft picks along with UDFA palooza!

Because my first round mock draft was so successful (5 of 32, baby!), I thought it’d be a great idea to do a Day 2 Mock Draft. Really, this is just a fun exercise to see what players might be available when the Vikings are on the clock in rounds 2 and 3. Sort of an exhibit to an article I posted earlier today looking deeper at potential Vikings targets.

After selecting Trae Waynes in the first round, the Vikings biggest positions of need remain linebacker, safety, guard and maybe wide receiver. Luckily for us, there are so exceptional prospects still available and some are surely to fall.

Check out the full simulation of Round 2 below as well as a little bit of Round 3 until the Vikings are back on the clock.

Second Round

1 (33) Titans / T.J. Clemmings, OT – Pittsburgh

2 (34) Buccaneers / Jake Fisher, OT – Oregon

3 (35) Raiders / Owamagbe Odighizuw, Edge – UCLA

4 (36) Jaguars / Benardrick McKinney, ILB – Mississippi St.

5 (37) Jets / Brett Hundley, QB – UCLA

The first round of the NFL Draft is in the books and thank you all who listed to the LIVE Stream right here on PurpleFTW.com and Vikings Territory. The Minnesota Fightin’ Vikings have a 2nd shutdown corner to pair with Xavier Rhodes, Adrian was NOT traded, and Trader Rick did not live up to his name. Even though the first round was a bit… Vanilla… We still had a great time talking Vikings Draft with out fantastic guests and your tweets throughout the show. We chopped up the stream into podcast form. Thanks for listening and making Purple FTW! possible!

Thousands and thousands of man hours have been dedicated to the next few days for every team in the NFL. Personally, I’ve dedicated three alone to updating this mock draft for the final time just before today’s festivities.

Though the draft is impossible to predict, this year feels absolutely futile. After Jameis Winston first overall and Marcus Mariota likely second (to who remains the question), it’s a complete mystery after that. Nevertheless, I wanted to take one last shot on the record.

This mock draft has the Vikings making a decision that’s been talked about since the beginning of the season. Sometimes maybe it’s just as simple as it seems?

Either way, check out the first five picks below and then continue to check out the full thing.

I can’t wait to hang out with everyone tonight on the Draft Live Blog page. Don’t miss it! Between Austin’s live updates, Andy’s live podcast, Lindsey’s live tweets from Winter Park and much more, we’ll have it all covered from pick number one to Mr. Irrelevant.

1. Tampa Bay (2-14) // Jameis Winston, QB – Florida State

Winston represents the best opportunity to provide the Buccaneers with a franchise quarterback. I say opportunity because Winston is not a sure bet. But despite character concerns being an issue, Winston has the physical attributes to compete at the next level and has the highest ceiling for a quarterback in this class.

2. Tennessee (2-14) // Marcus Mariota, QB – Oregon

Part of me says Tennessee will choose to stick with Zach Mettenberger. The other part says Tennessee, or another team at this spot, will take a shot on Mariota. The Titans have done a good job of keeping their intentions unknown in order to maximize potential trade value of their pick.

3. Jacksonville (3-13) // Dante Fowler, Edge – Florida

The Jaguars, who had the least amount of quarterback pressures in 2014, could use an elite prospect that can get after opposing signal callers. Fowler is a sack artist who would fit right in on the Jaguar’s defensive line.

4. Oakland (3-13) // Leonard Williams, IDL – USC

Interior defensive linemen are quickly becoming one of the most important positions on defense. Pressure from the middle severely hampers quarterback play and is a very effective way to disrupt pass-happy offenses. Leonard Williams, the best prospect in the draft and an elite talent inside could contribute greatly to the Raiders defense.

5. Washington (4-12) // Amari Cooper, WR – Alabama

Though wide receiver isn’t Washington’s biggest need, Cooper makes sense for the Redskins. Despite Washington’s wide receiver corps being very expensive, they don’t have any elite talent. Pierre Garcon is an above average talent, he is not a top-10 wide receiver and is overpaid. Washington is not going to be contending anytime soon and Cooper could be the core of Washington’s wide receiver group moving forward.

The NFL Draft is ALMOST HERE, Vikings fans! *Takes a deep breathe* We’re joined by show favorite Luke Inman (@luke_spinman) of eDraft in the last few days to talk about any last second nuggets or draft developments that hasn’t already been beaten to death by the sports media (Mock Draft #78.9!) in this never ending lead up to the most exciting three days of the NFL Offseason.